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Kobe Bryant is still aiming to play in the season opener on Oct. 29 after recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

"Now it’s about cutting the recovery time, I should be OK [for the start of the season]," Bryant said in an interview with The National, a website in Dubai. As far as we know, Kobe playing on opening night would be one of the quickest comeback stories from this injury in sports history, and we wouldn't put it past him. Stay tuned.

Lauri Markkanen (back) will be in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Jazz.

Markkanen is good to go and without a minutes limit, so go ahead and get him active. With him back in action, Nikola Mirotic figures to head back to the second unit where he'll split the reserve minutes with Bobby Portis.

Meyers Leonard (illness) is not expected to play and Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) is out, so Collins gets his first NBA start. He was playing minutes at both big spots on Saturday and Monday, so expect him to be more of a straight five in this game. He should be looking at minutes in the 23-30 range and is on the board as a DFS punt.

The Nuggets are going to go with Mason Plumlee in the first unit and will bring Nikola Jokic off the bench. Faried was a DNP-CD in the last game on Tuesday, so it'll be really hard to count on him because he'll certainly have a short leash today. He's a drop candidate now that Jokic is back.

Ian Mahinmi (knee) has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Grizzlies.

Mahinmi should be considered day-to-day with his MRI coming back negative, so perhaps he'll be able to get back out there for Friday's game against the Clippers. With him out, Jason Smith and Mike Scott should see some extra minutes, and Scott could be someone to think about as a low-end streamer or DFS punt play with him starting at power forward tonight.

Markieff Morris (hip) is out and Mike Scott will start against the Grizzlies on Wednesday.

It's another Morris late scratch and he apparently tightened up after warmups. Both Morris brothers have struggled to stay on the court, but Markieff doesn't sound like he'll be out for long. Scott has played well recently and he could get some extended minutes while Kelly Oubre could also be asked to step up.

Nikola Jokic (ankle) will come off the bench against the Celtics on Wednesday, but Will Barton (back) has been ruled out.

Jokic was a game-time call for this game and apparently everything went well in warmups to get him back out there. After missing the last six games, Jokic may have a limitation on him, but his minutes will be coming from Mason Plumlee, Trey Lyles and Kenneth Faried. Go ahead and lock Jokic into your lineup and prepare to cut the other Nuggets bigs.

Lauri Markkanen (back) will go through his pregame routine before an official decision is made on his playing status for Wednesday's game against the Jazz.

Markkanen is scheduled to start, but head coach Fred Hoiberg just implied that if anything goes wrong during warmups, he could be a late scratch tonight. Owners will need to check back for another update closer to tip-off, but if he is cleared to play, Nikola Mirotic will head back to the bench. Stay tuned.

Tyreke Evans (hip) will be held out against the Wizards on Wednesday after experiencing right hip soreness during his pregame warm-up.

This is the same hip issue that put him on the injury report last week, but this will be Evans' first game out of the lineup this season. The good news is that this isn't to his oft-injured knees, but it's a little troubling anytime we see Evans sitting out. While he's out, Mario Chalmers may have to pick up some extra run while Andrew Harrison has to back him up. Ben McLemore should also be looking at over 20 minutes in this game.

Meyers Leonard (illness) is headed for a game-time call for Wednesday's matchup with the Heat.

Leonard said that he wants to play, but he needs to go through his pregame routine before any final decisions are made. If Leonard can't give it a go, there will be more minutes available for Zach Collins, Noah Vonleh and Ed Davis, with Collins being one of the more attractive options out of that group. Check back for another update closer to tip-off.